DC Universe Online

[Midnite]

Some new details have emerged of DC Universe Online, the new PC and PS3 MMO in development at Sony Online Entertainment.

Jim Lee describes DC Universe as a "kick-arse hybrid between a traditional MMO and a first-person action console game".

You'll get to create your own superhero or villain, choosing their particular powers, according to the Edge article. So you'll decide whether to attack using fire or ice, for example, and move around using acrobatics or the power of flight. Other potential abilities mentioned in the article include speed-running and teleportation.

As with a traditional MMO your character will level up as you progress, and you'll develop your powers. When the game starts you might be able to fly, but only later will you learn how to pull off specific moves and attacks in mid-air.

Although you don't get to "be" any of the famous DC characters, you do get to interact with them. That might mean you end up saving Superman from being stabbed with a shard of kryptonite by Lex Luthor. Or, if you're a villain, you could cause carnage by chucking cars around downtown Metropolis, thereby encouraging the boy in blue to turn up and fight you.

Metropolis is one of two large shared environments revealed so far, the other being Gotham City. Unlike World of Warcraft, DC Universe will be comprised of a mix of these environments and separate instances. And while there will still be instances and raids, the emphasis will be on fast-paced action rather than grinding.

There will be PvP arenas, and you'll be able to make use of your superpowers and those of others in interesting ways. For example, someone might freeze your character in a block of ice, then pick up the block and chuck it at another player. In some instances, PvP fights will end up turning into giant PvE boss battles.

In the future, it's possible we could see models, environments and costumes from the game turning up in other DC Comics properties, and there are plans for plot crossovers. "We can tie-in future DC tentpole events and translate the stories for the gaming world, and have them occur simultaneously," said Lee. "The possibilities are numerous and very exciting."

DC Comics Universe is out next year.

Source link


Keep in mind that some of the screen shots represent a work very early in progress.

Concept Art Trailer

[lugaru]

Looks very nice.

Right now I'm loving a massively multiplayer diablo clone called Mythos and I keep thinking... if somebody did a massively multiplayer diablo clone (I know... X MEN LEGENDS AND MUA) as an online multiplayer superhero game that would be absolutely perfect. Build your hero, choose his appearance and his powers and off you go. Between beating up badguys and saving the town It would be cool to also see you join teams (the avengers for example or the JLA in DC) and be able to join bigger and better A-list teams as you go up in level.

Make it free (like Mythos or many korean games) and I'll be there on day one.

[Midnite]

Concept Art Trailer

[BentonGrey]

I would be mildly interested in seeing how well The Rogue could stand up to the Secret Society...but I doubt you'll have the ability to have a sword as part of your character.  However, this would certainly be modern DC continuity, which immediately drops my interest down to zero.

[UnkoMan]

Won't be able to have a sword? If they don't have as many or more power (which includes weapon) options as the leading competition how are they going to stand up?

Also... I don't know about this. Has DC produced a decent game yet? Well... Batman Returns on SNES was alright. But still, an mmo?  Not to mention... that Joker looks fairly horrible. Complain complain.

Actually, I do hope it turns out good. Even with current continuity (which I mostly ignore) I'm quite fond of DC's library of characters. Maybe the Corpse can team up with Deadman and the Creeper! Assuming they use any lesser known characters. Although I still think somebody's suggested LoSH game would have been a better route to go.

[ow_tiobe_sb]

I believe I read somewhere that the game's development has been stymied by the fact that the programmers have yet to perfect the game physics that will allow Power Girl to remain upright.  Then they need to tackle the jogging...

This game may never be released!  :unsure:

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

[BentonGrey]

I believe I read somewhere that the game's development has been stymied by the fact that the programmers have yet to perfect the game physics that will allow Power Girl to remain upright.  Then they need to tackle the jogging...

This game may never be released!  :unsure:

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

Haha!!  That's great Ow!

Unko, well, if weapons and things are options, that adds back a modicum of interest...but still, having to deal with current DC continuity would likely just annoy the stew out of me.  As much as I'd love to have The Rogue team up with Aquaman to fight Black Manta and his mantanaughts, the thought of having to fight alongside Arthur Joseph instead of the real King of the Seas leaves me........cold.

[JeyNyce]

WHY DID THEY PUT A TRAILER ONLINE?!!  Marvel did the same and what happen...... :P

[Lionheart]

Haha!!  That's great Ow!

Unko, well, if weapons and things are options, that adds back a modicum of interest...but still, having to deal with current DC continuity would likely just annoy the stew out of me.  As much as I'd love to have The Rogue team up with Aquaman to fight Black Manta and his mantanaughts, the thought of having to fight alongside Arthur Joseph instead of the real King of the Seas leaves me........cold.

I would assume weapons will be in game -- CoH has them, Champions Online has them (in their screenshots). Seems to be standard fare. They'd catch it big from fans if they didn't have weapons in place from the get go.

That said, I agree that if it is setin the current DC continuity it would detract from the game for me. I tend to be more of a Silver Age fan myself (or somewhere thereabout). Give me the "real" Aquaman any day. And give me Hal Jordan as Green Lantern.

[GrizzlyBearTalon]

I don't think they should strictly adhere to any continuity to be honest, fiddling with the classic or modern continuity would be too troublesome. I would simply use the current formula most marvel games have been using of a sort of stand alone continuity that while inspired by the comics doesn't completely trouble itself with decades upon decades of continuity and character rewrites. Here is either a sort of iconic version of the character or at least the most popular version, he is a hero that fights crime and such but hey look some villains! A little expository dialogue here and there to explain who certain villains are and establish if the characters have met before. Ta-dah!

That way you can even represent different major events or story arcs that did well in the comics in game w/o worrying about explaining it all thoroughly. It is simply happening for the first time in the continuity of the game you are playing. It worked well for Ultimate Alliance and I see no reason not to try something similar here. And you could always add in a flashback system such as in the X-men Legends games that let's you relive classic moments, or perhaps you stumble into a time travel device and get to participate in a past event with a new character.

[AfghanAnt]

I'm not sure about a game where your get to see all your favorite heroes doing things but you can't be them. Also didn't Marvel have the same idea and nix it because they thought it was going to tank?


Urgh...this and MK VS DC are not going to be on my pull list on GameFly.

[Midnight]

Vaaaaporware.

[Midnite]

"Imagine teaming up with Batman to take down the Joker. Or sailing over Metropolis as Brainiac 13 rains an army down on it and you team up with Superman to stop it. Or team up with Lex Luthor to take down Superman, or invision breaking villains out of Arkam Assylum and charging with them towards the Batcave."

The Trailer is out. Its looking good so far, but the Nightwing fight doesn't look fluid. Guess they have to refine it more. I'm liking the running up building animation. Wish CoX had that. The speedsters fight look really cool too.

[bredon7777]

Vaaaaporware.

Agreed. How long you give it? 6 mos? 1 year?

[Lionheart]

"Imagine teaming up with Batman to take down the Joker. Or sailing over Metropolis as Brainiac 13 rains an army down on it and you team up with Superman to stop it. Or team up with Lex Luthor to take down Superman, or invision breaking villains out of Arkam Assylum and charging with them towards the Batcave."

The Trailer is out. Its looking good so far, but the Nightwing fight doesn't look fluid. Guess they have to refine it more. I'm liking the running up building animation. Wish CoX had that. The speedsters fight look really cool too.

They definitely need to work on getting their animations in sync. In instances, it looked like there was a delay between the punch from one character and the response from the target.

The main issue I'm seeing with both games in development (DCU and CO) is the animations seem herky jerky compared to CoH. It may be because they are shooting for faster action, but the movement still needs to be fluid.

For an early look, it's not bad. It'll be interesting to see how they progress and polish.

[BlueBard]

At least they got one thing right... Flash ran up the side of a building.  Superspeedsters should be able to do that.

Whether or not players will be able to do that...?

Anyway, they'll beat Marvel to the punch, even if CoH/V and CO are there first.  It's too early to tell which game I'd choose but I won't be playing all three of them, I can tell you that.

As far as herky jerky animation goes... I get that all the time when CoH lags :D

[Lionheart]

As far as herky jerky animation goes... I get that all the time when CoH lags :D

I was refering more to the characters in combat being out of sync; that is, character A throws a punch, but there is a delay before character B reacts to it (including being knocked back).

I need to watch the video again, though. I was at work, so my PC may have had something to do with it. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this one too.  :)

[The Dream]

It wasnt your pc. Although the game looks beautiful, the movements look real jerky and robotic right now. I am really hoping they do well with this game. I quit COX a while back and I miss playing with everyone from FR. I plan on playing either Champions or DC, and DC would be the most practical because I have a ps3 and I would probably need to get a new computer to play Champions. Although I hate when people assume exactly what a game is going to be when it is so far away, I will say that it seems as if DC is going more toward an action oriented game and I fear that this may leave out some of the customization options that CO is suppose to have. I also worry that they may rely too much on the DC brand and make a very simple,boring game. The main reason I quit COX was the repetition, I dont want COX with Batman and Superman added.

[Previsionary]

Click- Some Jim Lee e3 news on the game.

[the_ultimate_evil]

so anyword on what the payment plan will be like, part of me still refuses to have to pay to play a game i've already spent £50 to buy in the shops

plus i'm not to sure of the whole create a hero/villain thing, when marvel was doing it they said they would own any character created in the game and could use them as they see fit, i wouldn't want dc to pull the same thing

thats and it would be interesting to see how customisable the hero creator will be

[Lionheart]

so anyword on what the payment plan will be like, part of me still refuses to have to pay to play a game i've already spent £50 to buy in the shops

plus i'm not to sure of the whole create a hero/villain thing, when marvel was doing it they said they would own any character created in the game and could use them as they see fit, i wouldn't want dc to pull the same thing

thats and it would be interesting to see how customisable the hero creator will be

The difference with an MMO is content updates and continued development. It's hard to see how MMOs could *not* charge fees to keep revenue for development coming in over the years.

As to the company owning the characters: CoH has the same thing in their license agreement. It is due to a large extent to protecting themselves from lawsuits from copyright/trademark infringement.

[Midnite]

Gameplay and Story Interview

[the_ultimate_evil]

The difference with an MMO is content updates and continued development. It's hard to see how MMOs could *not* charge fees to keep revenue for development coming in over the years.

content updates and continued development are just fancy way of saying patches and expansion packs, but at least with these the public is giving the choice of buying them, i still think its a kick in the jaw to be asked to take a game home then be asked to pay to play

[Lionheart]

content updates and continued development are just fancy way of saying patches and expansion packs, but at least with these the public is giving the choice of buying them, i still think its a kick in the jaw to be asked to take a game home then be asked to pay to play

Except that they are maintaining live servers, providing live support, putting out real content (not counting expansions) regularly, live events, plus additional "fix" patches. MMOs provide more dynamic worlds and content than single player games do. There really isn't comparison in overall content, ongoing service and maintenance, and rate of growth.

[Previsionary]

Yes, and expansions come out once in awhile or never at all. With MMOs, you are pretty assured that you will get some type of content and, as a player, you usually have some effect on the things that are fixed or added to the game. You don't get that same amount of involvement with non MMOs and your voice as a player isn't heard nearly as much. The only game that I would say is doing a good job of continuously updating its stuff is bioware/NWN1 + 2...however, they don't pay for servers either.

[BlueBard]

Got to say the trailers, including the gameplay interview, are interesting.  The one part that gives me pause is the description of combat targeting.

I personally am not a nimble-fingered guy.  The odds of me being able to target with any accuracy in a free-for-all is not real high.  It kind of makes me wonder whether friendly-fire will be a problem! :)

I'm going to have to play demos and get more info before I get any feel for whether/if DCO or CO will get my $$.

[UnkoMan]

In many games with this style of play there's a targeting button. Holding it automatically targets the closest enemy.

Hopefully something like that is implemented. They'd be foolish not to, really.

[Midnite]

IGN has the first DC Universe Online Comic-Con coverage.

Here are the links.

DC Universe Online Comic-Con Jim Lee Interview.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/893/893212p1.html

DC Universe Online First Gameplay Hands On.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/893/893273p1.html

Eight New DC Universe Online Screenshots.

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/755/755358/imgs_1.html

Four new DCUO gameplay footage videos have been posted on IGN.

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/755/755358/vids_1.html

[BWPS]

At first it looked like a prettier City Of Heroes, but the super speed looks way cool and is something I've never seen in a game.

[lugaru]

The only thing I'm not too crazy of so far are the animations, like watching somebody swat another character with a car like a fly to watch him fall down a second latter. Stuff like that but I guess that's all inevitable in MM games...